This post was updated Oct. 8 at 10:32 p.m.
Hundreds of students gathered in Bruin Plaza on Thursday to call for an end to sexual violence and show support for survivors.
The demonstration, which was part of a nationwide walkout with more than 200 participating campuses, was organized after an alleged October 2024 gang rape at Cornell University gained national attention. A former Cornell student, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit in September 2026 alleging that seven members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity raped her, according to the Daily Sun – Cornell’s campus newspaper.
The accused men’s punishments ranged in severity. While two of the men were expelled and two were suspended, others were issued no-contact orders, had to study sexual assault and write reflective essays, according to The New York Times. None of the seven men have faced criminal charges. All of them have denied wrongdoing.
Undergraduate Students Association Council President Jayha Buhs Jackson and Internal Vice President Gabrielle Trujillo addressed the crowd in opening remarks at noon at Bruin Plaza.
“This (sexual violence) is not something just on the East Coast,” Trujillo said in a speech. “This is not something that’s impacting a small amount of universities. This is at UCLA. This is in our fraternities. It is in our residential halls. It is on our campus.”
Buhs Jackson outlined organizers’ demands, which included a review of UCLA and UCPD policies for reporting and investigating sexual assault and harassment and mandatory in-person prevention training for all community members. Buhs Jackson also called for additional sexual harassment training for fraternities, increased funding for the Campus Assault Resources and Education program, guaranteed tuition reimbursements for sexual assault survivors who withdraw from UCLA and the restoration of pre-Trump Title IX protections for LGBTQ+ students.
[Related: Education Department reinstates Trump Title IX rules, rescinds LGBTQ+ protections]
Nava Khurgel, a co-director of Planned Parenthood Generation Action at UCLA, said students must create an environment where survivors can share their experiences without fear or shame. Khurgel urged attendees to intervene when they witness harmful behavior, even when it involves their friends.
Around 12:30 p.m., demonstrators walked up Bruin Walk, passed Kaplan Hall and Powell Library, then continued down Janss Steps, chanting “Sexual violence has got to go,” and “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now.”
Around a dozen UCPD officers monitored the event. UCPD declined to comment on its presence.
Demonstrators returned to Bruin Plaza around 12:45 p.m., completing a loop through campus.
Iyanna Williams, a fourth-year human biology and society student and co-director of UCLA Sexperts – a sexual health student organization – said she attended the protest to support survivors and push back against victim-blaming surrounding the Cornell case.
“We want to show up for our campus, we want to show up for Jane Doe and we want to show up for our community as well,” said Hazel Fujinami, a third-year psychology student and marketing director for UCLA Sexperts.
Julie Banks, the Policy and Program Development Director at the Rape Treatment Center in Santa Monica, said she attended the event to distribute flyers with sexual violence support services available to the UCLA community.
The UCLA Health Rape Treatment Center provides emergency medical services within five days of assault with free transportation to Santa Monica for the UCLA community, as well as longer-term therapy options.
At 12:55 p.m., demonstrators at the Bruin Plaza stage chanted, “Sexual violence must go, we believe Jane Doe.”
“We take care of each other,” said Lilly Barrett, a third-year political science student and president of Bruin Democrats. “We believe survivors. We protect survivors, and we love survivors.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
